Cinco

Address: 17 A Rua Ruben A. Leitão, Lisbon, 1200-329, Portugal
Tel: +351 21 342 4033
Website: view Cinco’s website
Hours: Mon-Sun 21:00-02:00
Style: Cocktail bar
Food: Bar Snacks

Review

Established in 2004, Lisbon’s original contemporary cocktail lounge is still going strong.

When David Palethorpe opened Cinco in 2004, he blazed a trail for Lisbon and the country as a whole. Many of Portugal’s best bartenders cut their teeth here, or learned from someone who did. And, impressively, thirteen years after opening, this intimate, dimly lit lounge in Principe Real is still flying the flag for creative, contemporary drinks.

The menu is a nice mix of crowd-pleasers and innovation. Guests can create their own Margaritas using a choice of mezcal, tequila, sweetener and sour, with variants as exotic as grilled bell peppers and as routine as Cointreau. Many drinks come quirkily presented, in cans ready for piercing or, as in the case of the aged Negroni, in miniature bottles to pour over spheres of ice.

There’s a well-priced wine offer, but if you have anything other than a cocktail here, you’re missing a trick.